Freebordsite.com brought you a list of Basic Freebord tricks a while back, now it’s time to get into some serious shredding. The tricks described below are recommended for serious Freebord riders only and should not be attempted without proper protective gear and at least some experience on a Freebord.

Freebord Grinds

Once you learn how to Ollie, the next trick in your arsenal should be a grind. There are dozens of different grinds in skateboarding but the two center wheels of a Freebord can make them next to impossible. Here are a few you can actually do fairly easily on a Freebord once you get the hang of it.

And a little helpful advice before you go out and try to grind a thirty-foot handrail down a flight of stairs: when learning grinds on a Freebord, try it an on flat rail first—leave the handicap ramps and stairs alone for a while!

50-50 Grind

The 50-50 Grind is probably the first one you should learn and easiest of them all. To get started, approach a rail or ledge at a steep angle traveling at a fairly decent speed (be careful not to go too fast or you’ll overshoot). Next, Ollie the Freebord high enough to get over the rail or ledge and land the center of both trucks on the rail—this step might be a little difficult until you get a feel for how the center caster wheels play into the mix (remember, you can raise or lower those truck with an Allen wrench).

Your forward momentum should carry the grind for you. All you have to do is balance and make sure that you remember to pop out when you lose momentum or you will eat pavement.

Nose Grind

The Nose Grind is very similar to a 50-50 except instead of bring both trucks down on the rail, you only bring the front truck down. Keep the back truck off—but directly over—the rail. This is similar to a nose manual in many ways but the wheels aren’t on the ground, the hanger is.

5-0 (a.k.a. Tail Grind)

The Tail Grind, sometimes called a 5-0 Grind, is like a Nose grind but instead of bringing the front hanger down on the rail, you bring the rear hanger down. The 5-0 Grind is essentially a manual but with the hanger grinding on the rail instead of the wheels rolling on the ground.

Crooked Grind

The Crooked Grind starts off the same as a Nose Grind but instead of landing with the rear truck centered over the rail, it’s balanced over the edge of the rail at an angle (hanging in free space). With the Freebord angled so much, it may be difficult to maintain your balance and momentum for long so don’t forget to pop out of the grind before you’re Freebord catches and you keep going. And use those bindings to your advantage—you can push and pull with your feet on a Freebord.

Freebord Slides and Stalls

Sliding is like grinding but with the wood of the Freebord touching the rail instead of the metal of the hangers. The tricks all start the same way (approach the rail at an angle and Ollie up onto it) but add a rotation while you’re in the air before you hit the rail.

Boardslide (a.k.a. Bordslide)

Do not attempt Freebord boardslides on ledges until you have a strong feel for how the center caster wheels affect your landing. Use a flat rail first until you know what you’re doing. That said, the boardslide is fairly easy. Roll in, Ollie up, and when coming down rotate your Freebord 90 degrees so it’s perpendicular to the grind rail.

Bring the Freebord down with the rail centered between the edge wheels and maintain your balance. Your Freebord should slide right along the rail if you can keep your weight balanced evenly. As with the grinds, pop out before you lose all momentum.

Lip Slide

Lipslides are a little harder because, like it says in the name, you’ll be sliding on the lip of the Freebord. That means when you land the Ollie you want to have just the very front tip of the Freebord up on the rail. You can use your front wheels to maintain board position but keep in mind they’ll radically decrease your speed.

You can do frontside or backside lipslides but frontside area little bit easier to learn. For a backside slide, rotate your Freebord 90 degrees so it’s perpendicular to the lip and land with your leading foot.

Nose Stall

Stalls can be a bit tricky on a Freebord because of the bindings but if you master them, you can use them as a jump off point for a series of sick tricks. To do a stall you’ll need a ramp or a ledge (a rail will work if you come at it perpendicularly). As you Ollie up toward the lip of the ramp or rail, shift your weight forward so that when the lip of the Freebord lands on the edge your weight is directly over the contact point.

This should effectively kill all of your forward momentum (unless you’re going too fast when you come in) and leave you hanging for an instant. Holding a stall on a Freebord is almost impossible because the bindings don’t let you get your foot far enough toward the front of the Freebord but if you use the binding of your trailing foot as a sort of counterbalance you can hold them for a bit.

If you’re on a ramp, all you have to do to exit the stall is let your weight shift back toward the downhill slope. On a rail or ledge you have to pop back off or you’ll fall.

Handslides

For handslides, you’ll need some slide gloves because—well—you slide on your hands and asphalt will give you a nasty rash (road rash). To handslide, get some speed (usually a nice gradual hill is a good spot to slide). Crouch low on your Freeborb and lean forward.

As you feel the Freebord start to slide out from under you, place your hands on ground and use them as a balance points (like the two other legs of a tripod—the Freebord is the third leg). By using your abs and leg muscles, you can then control how and where the Freebord will slide. You can do 180s, 360s, 720s,or even backside/frontside combinations of them with practice.

It takes a while to get handslides down. Start slow and small and work up once you get the feel for it. And when sliding, always wear knee and elbow pads and a helmet.

Trinity (a.k.a. The most epic freebord trick known to man)

I’ll leave you with an epic Freebord handsliding trick that should only be attempted by excellent Freebord riders. It’s called the Trinity. Basically it’s a frontward handslide that extends so far the Freebord actually rises up on its front edge wheels and nose lip. To start a Trinity, get some speed and crouch low.

Ease into a frontside handslide by leaning forward on the Freebord. Bring your hands down and extended them as if you’re doing push-ups. At the same time, rotate the Freebord and pull your trailing leg in a little so that the Freebord tips up on its front wheels and nose lip. Don’t tip this too far or the Freebord will catch and you’ll got face first into the asphalt.

To come out of a Trintiy intact, drop the Freebord back down into position and use your abs to curl yourself back up. As you approach vertical again, ease the freebord back into place and stand up.